Alcoa reports for Q4 a 9.3% increase in aluminum prices

Alcoa (AA) reported 4th quarter earnings tonight. AA’s average realized price per metric ton of aluminum increased 9.3% over the previous quarter. This is the third straight quarterly increase, and it is also a 1.4% year-over-year increase.

During the conference call, Alcoa President and CEO Klaus Kleinfeld declared that the company will see 10% growth in 2010, half-driven by China. The other half of its growth will come from other emerging markets like India and Brazil. This is quite a turn-around from the pits of 2008-2009 that Kleinfeld described as “…a tough year for the aluminum industry – a price crash, demand destruction, and credit crunch.”

The stock is down slightly in after-hours but is up 30% in a break-out over the past month: